David Kelzenberg

This Hubbard French Double Manual instrument belongs to David Kelzenberg, University of Iowa. The kit was built by harpsichord maker Peter O'Donnell of Iowa City, Iowa.

Mr. O'Donnell tells the story of kit #1178 as follows:

"The kit was bought by Dave Kelzenberg from a gentleman in Kansas City in the autumn of 1985. The man had bought the kit around 1976, unpacked it and stored loose items and open boxes in his wet garage. Dave and I traveled to Kansas City and were horrified to see the condition of the kit which the seller had described as "pristine." I assured Dave that the kit could be made right and he bought it for $1500 with some reluctance. I bought some replacement supplies from Hubbard, made others myself and completed the instrument in late 1986."

"David, who was president of the Iowa City Early Keyboard Society from 1989 until 1995, generously made his instrument available to artists on the ICEKS concert series, starting, I believe, with John Gibbons in February of 1987...."

Kelzenberg notes that his instrument as been used for the vast majority of Early Music Iowa concerts since then, and has been played by people like David Schrader, Charlotte Mattax, Mark Kroll, Elizabeth Wright, Eiji Hashimoto, Arthur Haas, Larry Palmer, Luc Beausejour and, of course, Dave Kelzenberg.

Peter O'Donnell modestly states that "none of us would be getting any credit were it not for Mr. Kelzenberg's generosity."

We thank both David and Peter for rescuing #1178 and allowing us to use their story and take this opportunity to publically acknowledge their respective contributions to early keyboard music in Iowa.